by Asher, Yarid
“Yes! We are rich” said the soldiers and ran towards the wealth but just as they approached it, a huge birch like, thorny tail swept them across the room and a black dragon rose from the shadows, where the light did not reach. It was gigantic. It was smaller than Amoveus but still was big. It had big, yellow eyes with black, sword like pupils. Its body was scaly and had horns and spikes. Its armor was thick and could not be pierced by weapons such as swords and javelins and spears and arrows. Its claws were like spears and teeth were like javelins, both sharpened to their limits. It was black in color and had a long, snake like neck and a huge mouth. It breathed fire and broke the ground he stood on.
After the dragon swept the soldiers, he breathed fire upon them and burnt them alive, which made the rest stay away from the wealth.
“Who are you and what do you want?” said the dragon in his heavy and aggressive voice but with a lisp and slither.
“I am Leosher, the prince of Aseroth, the king of The Empire, and I am here for the weapons.” He paused “Why did you kill my men?”
“Because they were greedy and I am here to protect everything from the greedy.”
Leosher looked at their burnt bodies and looked back at the dragon “Who was Lutman and who are you?”
“Lutman?” asked Urey, “Who is he?” but Usere smacked him and made him be quiet. Then the dragon swept the ground with his tail and sat on the heaps of gold as if it was its nest.
“Lutman, is the beast of mind games. He was meant to stop whoever entered the lair but he failed, as we all can see.” The dragon moved his long neck close to Leosher’s face and breathed on his face to let him feel the heat “And I am Ezhak, the protector of the weapons.”
Virgil smiled and walked up and stood next to his brother to show support, “Can we take the weapons now?”
“The weapons are meant to be taken by Shamaun, but since he has not come to this land in a long time, I will alow you all to take it, but beware, do not let your greed take over you. Even if one coin goes beyond this point, the lair will be destroyed and all within it will be killed.”
Leosher ignored him and moved forward from between his legs and claws. There was a thin strip of floating rocks, connecting the ground to a bell-like chamber, daggling in mid-air with chains wrapped around. It looked like a huge bell with fire in its bosom.
Leosher walked on the rocks, alone. Virgil tried to join him but Leosher stopped him
“Brother wait, let me go with you.”
“No, Virgil, you stay here.”
Leosher stopped his brother and walked on the floating rocks and went in the bell-like chamber and saw that there was a gauntlet made of wood and wrapped in vines, a spear made of gold and silver and encrusted with diamonds and a gladius sword made with rough metal but made to kill and was the sturdiest of them all. Leosher put the gauntlet on his hand and held the spear in his hand. He sheathed the sword and began coming out of the chamber but just as he stepped out, the old, rusty chains suspending the chamber over lava, broke and the chamber began falling. Leosher instantaneously jumped out and held onto the rocks while the chamber fell in the lava and turned to mist.
He climbed back up on the cliff, where his brother and Usere rushed towards him to see if he was alright. The others tried to come but the dragon did not allow them.
“I have finally gotten the weapons,” said Leosher with a grin on his face “Now let us kill the rulers and claim what is rightfully mine.”
Just as they were about to walk out of the room and into the tunnel, something caught Leosher’s eye. He saw that the dragon was chained and this was a prison for him.
“Why are you tied up?” asked Leosher “What have you done?”
“I am highly dangerous,” said Ezhak “I am the only one of my kind and am very strong. My master was strong but he had to leave me here as a baby to guard the weapons, but since I have not heard from him or someone from his bloodline, I do not serve him any longer.”
Leosher did not hear a word Ezhak said and grabbed the chains with his hands and tried to yank them. It was locked tight and none could open it
“I tried,” said Ezhak “I have tried all of my life, I have tried to melt it, break it and even eat it but all of my tries were futile, for I am meant to stay here and rot here, all of my life.”
Leosher ignored him and again tried to snap it but his tries were futile as well. Tired of the sturdiness of the heavy chains, he took his scythe out and smacked the brittle yet strong chain. It snaped quickly, freeing Ezhak the dragon. Leosher smirked and saw Ezhak break through the ceiling and fly to the mouth of the mountain, which was the gate to his freedom that he deserved, for after all, he was the only one of his kind and had been in prison all his life.
Leosher began walking towards the tunnel but suddenly, one of his soldiers dropped some coins from his pockets. It was an accident of course but it was wrong. He had been trying to sneak the gold out so he could be rich but his foolishness quickly aggravated Leosher. When Leosher saw, it was already too late, for the man had reached the foot of the tunnel. The mountain started shaking and breaking. They all ran through the tunnel for a little while and finally reached the hall of columns and just as they approached the middle of the hall, the ground broke into pieces. There was a void under them. The warriors had to jump from rock to rock to keep on moving and stay above the lava. What made it even harder was the debris falling from the top.
They all quickly made it back outside. Virgil and the others soon ran outside but Leosher stopped the one who took the coins of gold, and stayed back behind with him, at the foot of the gates. They both stood at the entrance while the entire cave was breaking in pieces and falling into the lava. Leosher had an evil anger on his face and said to the soldier with wrath in his voice “You almost got us killed today.”
“I am sorry my lord, I could not help it but grab some—but on the bright side, we are still alive.”
The soldier smiled but Leosher stayed angry “Correction—I am alive!” and with that, he kicked the soldier into the lava, mercilessly, and ran out of the gates where all were packing up everything, as fast as they could, and were running down the mountain as fast as they could.
Soon the entire empirion army began running down the mountain. Most were bare footed, for they had not anticipated something like this to happen. They were being followed by avalanches and rocks from the mountain but luckily, Leosher was behind them all and he was destroying all the big boulders that came down.
Leosher followed them down the mountain, only to find out that the entire valley, an island rather, was sinking. They all ran towards the ships but then Usere noticed that the soldier was not with Leosher.
“Where is the last soldier?” asked Usere
“I kicked him to his death.”
They were very shocked because he had just killed an innocent soldier “Why would you do that?” Urey exclaimed “He was innocent” added Neiham.
Virgil, Azar and Barian were quiet but they did not pay much attention either, because they were too busy staying alive, although, Virgil was a bit sad, for his brother was not like the Leosher that left the village.
They all ran through the havoc and towards the ships. The water was now coming and was covering the ground rapidly. The mountains were slowly getting to sea level which made their journey much, much shorter.
They all finally reached the ships and they all boarded them.
“Let us continue” Leosher exclaimed “For we do not have much time.”
Now they all were very happy because this was a milestone. They had retrieved the weapons and now all they had to do was travel and defeat the rulers. Virgil hugged his brother and Usere and Urey shook their king’s hand to congratulate him. Azar patted him on the back and Neiham congratulated him but Barian was the only one who had a gift for him. He gave him the finest rum in all Thraenus. He had scavenged it from the royal ships of Strinthius where it was being carried to the castle for the king. Although it was in a sma
ll alligator-skin pouch, Leosher appreciated it and drank it and quenched his thirst.
They all enjoyed and feasted that night. They sailed to the shores of Gelus and in a few days, when they reached the shores, they set camp there. They partied around the fire and that was one of the few days where Leosher did not act as a king but acted the way he had acted before leaving the village. They stayed up all night that night and enjoyed and drank rum.
Soon Arusus joined her brother to congratulate him as well. She came to the ground like a meteor, again, in a shining blaze of light. She shone in the dark sky and ruined the feast, for all the food and liquor were spilled on the sand because of the shockwave. Many scowled and frowned but all were astounded by her beauty. This she wasn’t in armor, but in simple, gold clothes. She wore high boots, a gold leather armor, high gloves and shoulder pads as well. All of her clothes were golden and even her accessories were golden.
When Leosher saw her, he jerked himself back to senses and got back to being the power hungry, mean king of “The Empire”.
“Brother,” said Arusus while walking towards him “I am happy for you because you have retrieved the weapons.”
Leosher smirked “How about we walk on the shore, away from them.” He said while pointing at all the men.
Them both went to the shore and began talking “Brother, although the gods cannot see you in Aseroth because of Mother’s shield, they all are happy, for now finally, the rulers will be defeated and the constant fear of Saulus finding out will be over.”
“Cannot the gods kill them themselves,” asked Leosher “Why do they need me for?”
“Brother, you do not know do you?” she laughed.
“No, I do not.”
“The gods cannot intervene in the matters of the mortals, for none of us has been raised on Thraenus, therefore we cannot kill the rulers. We live by rules, but you, my brother, you were sent for this sole purpose. Now that you will defeat the rulers and kill Samael, you will become the king of Thraenus; and once you are done with the purpose you were sent, you shall be the new king of Aseroth.”
Leosher smiled “So I am being used?”
“Think as you wish.” She smiled.
Just as they were talking, Lamfari’s bird came down with a letter. There was something off with this bird. This was not the same bird that Lamfari usually used earlier, but Leosher did not care. It had a red sealed letter which meant it was highly important and had to be acted upon as fast as one could. Leosher snatched the letter from the bird and broke the seal and took the parchment out of the envelope and read it:
Leosher,
Queen Geluna and the others know you are coming for the throne. She sent her army to kill the villagers. Luckily, Buntius sent me in a water well, where I hid until the wave had passed but your mother and Meagon were not lucky enough. She has taken them as hostages and wants you in return. Please surrender, for they have threatened that they shall come back and kill everyone.
Lamfari.
There was something different about the letter because it seemed like it was not Lamfari. Lamfari was one of the bravest men Leosher knew and though he was very old, he would have never told Leosher to surrender but then again, there were a lot of lives on the line. Leosher did not pay attention to that and ran as quickly as he could to his boozed up men and got them ready for battle. They all got up and wore their sandals and grabbed their weapons and packed everything up. They all lined up and stood straight but they could not, for they were drunk and did not expect anything until tomorrow. Many fell on the ground but then got up again, and this continued.
“Tonight, we are going to battle Geluna and take back what is rightfully ours.”
There was a chant all over the shore “Leosher! Leosher! Leosher!”
Virgil looked at Leosher and asked “What are you doing? What is going on?”
Azar walked to him and asked the same thing “What is going on?”
“Geluna has Mother and Meagon. We have to save them.”
Virgil was aggravated with what he heard, just like Leosher. “What are you saying brother, I think the rum is taking its toll on you.”
“How dare you speak to your king like that and doubt him” growled Leosher “I am telling you, I received a letter from Lamfari telling me that Geluna’s soldiers have taken mother and Meagon. I have to go and rescue them as fast as I can.”
Virgil now finally believed him and quickly began planning the troops. He told Usere, Urey and Barian to lead the soldiers in three groups. One group was of the archers, one of the ones with swords and shields and then the pirates and the spear wielders. Virgil himself led the horsemen and the Minotaurs. These Minotaurs were strong, very strong, for they had the power of a ten bulls and were going to prove a very effective weapon against Gelun forces.
Leosher sat on his horse and rode into the forests, leaving everyone behind. He was blinded by anger but Virgil still was suspicious. He read the letter and he paid attention to every little detail. He was not sure, for that did not sound like Lamfari talking but he accompanied his brother anyways.
The Empirion army was small but was courageous and strong and were about to go against the Gelun army, the army of a witch.
It took them two days to reach the forests that surrounded Queen Geluna’s castle. The castle was constructed with rotten white stone and had thick walls. It had green plants all around it and was wrapped in vines. It was dark with minimal light to see and there was a large wooden gate with rusted iron latches in the front, as an entrance to the front yard. It was surrounded by muggy, oozy, waterlogged water and was the residence of alligators. It had four towers for lookout and all four towers had fire in them with three soldiers as the watchers. In its front yard, beyond the gates, it had hundreds of Oak trees. It also had staircase that led to the court hall which consisted of tree like pillars and the throne of the Queen, a tree, grown into the shape of a throne. The castle was filled with bizarre and eerie statues which were creepy and of awful shapes. There were lanterns that hung from the ceiling of the court hall with burning oil dripping from their bottom. North of the court hall was the bedchamber of the Queen and in the West was the grand dining hall. In the East was the kitchen and the soldiers’ quarters and in the far-east and beyond the quarters were the dungeons made for tributes and prisoners and those who revolted against her.
Leosher and his men sat in the dark and thick corners of the forest where they set camp and sat around fire and observed the castle to find a weak point.
“What are we sitting here for?” Leosher asked Virgil “They have my mother and Meagon in there.”
Azar and Usere tried to calm him down and Virgil tried too “Brother, we have to wait till the morning, when the soldiers can see properly because the visibility in the castle is very minimal which would put Geluna at an advantage.”
Azar patted him on the back and inhaled a lot of smoke from the long pipe in his mouth
“Son, as your advisor and friend, I would suggest you wait until the morning.”
“I do not care about your pitiful advises, the only thing I know is that I have to go” said Leosher angrily but Urey stopped him “The archers will not be able to see where their target is.”
Barian smiled and took a sip of his rum “That is why we pirates are better. We do not need anything except kegs of rum and a sword and we are good to go.”
Leosher smiled at him sarcastically and sat down angrily and began staring into the fire. He took off his half ripped cloak and also his sandals, while all the others stood around him and waited for their king to give his final decision “Tell our men that we stay here, hidden in the forest and spend the night here. We shall kill the queen tomorrow.”
There was a grin on everyone’s face but there was something going on inside Leosher’s head.
“Thank you, brother, I knew you would make the right decision” said Virgil “Now we all better go to sleep, for tomorrow we are going to have a very important battle in the history o
f Thraenus.”
“Barian, bring us some wine” Leosher yelled out and took his weapons off and laid them beside him. Now he was wearing only his battle skirt because his armor had crumpled and he had thrown it away. All sat around the fire and Barian told one of his pirates to bring them some booze. They sat around the fire and drank while all the soldiers slept. Urey and Usere hunted a deer and skinned it. Neiham cooked it on the hot fire and by midnight, it was all ready to eat. It was a full moon night with the stars covered with clouds. There was a cool breeze and the wood in the fire popped every once in a while. There was a peaceful silence and the warriors ate their hunt
“Tell us your back story” said Leosher while looking at Azar and Neiham who were sitting together, eating heavily and wildly but somehow, still looking graceful and courteous.
“Yes,” said Urey “I asked you and you never told me. Now is the perfect time.”
Azar smiled and looked at Neiham “Sister, do you want to tell the story?”
“No, you can go ahead and tell it. I do not mind.”
Azar coughed and cleared his throat and put his pipe in his mouth and blew it out in different shapes and stared into the fire
“It was a long night when Neiham and I were stripped off of our innocence. We used to live in a village in Agnithius and the village had a wizard. He was a great man and helped everyone whenever he could. He made me his apprentice and made Neiham his potion assistant but one day, the king’s soldiers came in the village for tributes as slaves and took us forcibly from our parents. The residents of the village were mostly farmers, because this was the only part of Agnithius that allowed people to farm and not be in the military. The soldiers came in and took us and the old wizard tried to hold them off and free us but he could not take on thousands of brutal men and women on his own. We were being taken in carriages but they were old with rusted latches. Neiham and I managed to break through the wooden carriage and we both ran away in the woods. When we finally went back to our village, they had burnt everyone and everything. We only found ashes of everything in the village. It was as if the village never existed, only ashes. They had leveled it all. We ran to where our house used to be and we found nothing but burnt bodies of our parents. I thought our mentor, the wizard must have been alive but none the less, he was dead as well. He had spears through his body and his wand in his hand with his spell book in his other hand. I took the spell book and the wand and found another, potion making book in his room. My sister and I ran away from Agnithius and traveled to the outskirts of Geluna by hiding on trade ships. The outskirts were the only peaceful town we could find. The villagers accepted us and the good people gave us food. I trained all day and night with the spell book and became the best wizard in the kingdom of Gelus and Neiham did the same with her talents and became the best potion maker, which brought both of us money but we gave it all to charity and for the good of the villagers, for they had accepted us and fed us through our miserable childhood.”